Al-Quds University

The University of Jerusalem (Al-Quds University)

جامعة القدس
Type	Governmental
Established	1984
Administrative staff	1,000
Undergraduates	13,000
Postgraduates	2,000
Location	Beit Hanina, Abu Dis, al-Bireh, Palestinian National Authority and West Bank
Website	www.alquds.edu

Al-Quds University (Arabic: جامعة القدس‎‎) is a Palestinian university with campuses in Jerusalem, Abu Dis, and al-Bireh. It was founded in 1984, but its official constitution was written in 1993 when Mohammed Nusseibeh, its first chancellor and chancellor of the College of Science and Technology, announced its formation.

The idea of establishing an institution of higher learning in the outskirts of Jerusalem was conceived early in 1957, when a Board of Trustees was formed in Kuwait. The board elected an Executive Committee entrusted with bringing the project into being. The committee entrusted Rouhi al-Khatib, the mayor of East Jerusalem, with the task of assisting the Executive Committee in its endeavors and to initiate construction work, which began in 1965. Work on the site was interrupted by the outbreak of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Nevertheless, a sizable section of the buildings on the campus was completed later and used as a primary and secondary school, servicing mostly Palestinian orphans. In October 1979, the College of Science was established but was forced to close down by Israeli military order. It was reopened in October 1981, as a College of Science and Technology.

Its founding constituent colleges included the colleges of Science and Technology, Paramedical Sciences, Arts and Religious Studies. Its School of Medicine, associated with the city's Maqasid hospital, was the first college to be founded directly under the banner of Al-Quds in 1993 and is the first Palestinian medical school.

Al-Quds is governed by a Board of Trustees. The founding board was headed by Mohammed Nusseibeh and included Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Sheikh Ikrema Sabri, Adnan al-Husayni, Saeb Erekat, and others as members. The first president, Hatem Husseini, was followed by the current acting president, Sari Nusseibeh.